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Bench/ was established in 1987 opening up as a small store selling men's T-shirts. The company has now grown to include a ladies' line, underwear, fragrances, housewares, snacks and other lifestyle products. The company's growth can be attributed to their use of celebrity endorsers, television commercials and giant billboards along the busy streets of the metro.[citation needed]

On September 20, 2014, Bench staged a fashion show at the Mall of Asia Arena for their underwear collection called "The Naked Truth" which garnered negative responses on social media as a result of portions of the show that displayed the objectification of women.[6]GABRIELA slams actor Coco Martin after his controversial ramp on the show with a model on a leash like a dog.[7][8] As a result of the controversial fashion show, the GABRIELA party list are to file a House Resolution to condemn it along with a condemnation for shirts that were sold in SM Department Store that trivializes rape.[9] Former GABRIELA Party-list representative Liza Maza described the fashion show as a "dehumanzing portrayal of women".[10] An ongoing campaign to boycott Bench was also launched by various social media users on Twitter in response to the controversial fashion show.[11] A petition calling for Bench to take action regarding the issue of their controversial fashion show (which is a petition also shared by the call for SM Department Store to take additional action on shirts that trivializes rape that were sold and later pulled out from their stores) has been made as well.[12] Three days after the said controversial fashion show, Bench has released a public apology stating that they "apologize to the public for all the offensive elements of the show, 'The Naked Truth'." and that they will take the concerns raised seriously and will serve as a lesson for their next shows. They also stated on the same statement that "We shall continue to uphold the dignity of women and our commitment will remain so."[13] As of September 24, 2014, Bench has taken down their public apology post on Facebook. [14]